Alexandre Fachard – författare

Within the Tides (1915) was the last volume of short stories published during Conrad's lifetime. In this book, the stories are published for the first time in a critical edition based upon a thorough analysis of the original documents, and the critical texts have been emended so as to include Conrad's later revisions. The introduction discusses Conrad's main sources and influences, places the stories in their contemporary contexts and traces the volume's contemporary reception. The essay on the texts and the 'Apparatus' document the history of composition and publication and detail the revisions that the texts underwent, demonstrating as well how editors and compositors shaped their presentation in serial form. Also included are explanatory notes glossing literary and historical allusions. Two glossaries - of nautical terms and of foreign words and phrases - further enrich the explanatory matter, as do a map and six illustrations.

Published in 1915, Victory: An Island Tale holds a special place in Conrad's later writings as a bold experiment in genre. The novel variously draws upon realism, allegory and melodrama to explore large themes: commitment and solidarity, the individual's relationship to society and the power of love. The Introduction situates the novel in Conrad's career and traces its sources and contemporary reception. The essay on the text and the apparatus lay out the history of the work's composition and publication, and detail the extensive interventions by Conrad's typists, compositors and editors. Also included are notes explaining literary and historical references, a glossary of nautical terms, illustrations including pictures of early drafts, and appendixes. Established through modern textual scholarship, this edition of Victory presents the novel in a form more authoritative than any so far printed, and restores a text that has circulated in highly defective forms since its original publication.